‘Guardians of the Galaxy 2′ Reportedly Hitting Theaters in May, 2016

While we all speculate on whether 'Doctor Strange' or 'Black Panther' will be a part of Marvel's Phase 3, today comes some actual new on what one of those Phase 3 movies may be. Unfortunately, there's no major announcement on either of those two new films, but instead it looks like one of the Phase 3 movies will be another sequel, alongside 'Thor 3' and 'Captain America 3' - 'Guardians of the Galaxy 2'.

JoBlo is reporting that Marvel has set 'Guardians of the Galaxy 2' for May 6, 2016, a previously announced date that had not yet been specifically connected to a Marvel movie. That date is also when Warner Bros. has scheduled 'Batman vs. Superman,' which makes for an interesting showdown.

While 'Thor 3' and 'Captain America 3' seemed like no-brainers for Marvel (especially since 'Iron Man 4' seems less and less likely), the news of 'Guardians of the Galaxy 2' comes as something of a surprise, at least this early in the game.

'Guardians' doesn't have the awareness that characters like Captain America, Thor or Hulk do, and tonally, this film will be different than anything Marvel has done before. So we're a little surprised to see them commit to a sequel this early in the game ('Guardians of the Galaxy' doesn't open in theaters until August), but perhaps they love what director James Gunn has put together so far and are excited about moving forward with the sequel. It's also important to remember that the 'Guardians' are important in terms of expanding the Marvel universe into interstellar territory, especially we're driving towards an Infinity Gauntlet storyline in 'Avengers 3.' We're mostly just surprised that Marvel would put its most untested franchise up against 'Batman vs. Superman.'

Bridging the gap between the first 'Guardians' film and 'Guardians of the Galaxy 2' is the animated series based on the films, which will debut on Disney XD in 2015. It's unclear if any of the movie's cast will return to voice the series or if it will be a spinoff like some of the other existing Marvel animated series.

Speaking of the cast, what could hinder the return of 'Guardians of the Galaxy' in 2016 are the commitments of Chris Pratt to 'Jurassic Park 4' and Zoe Saldana to the 'Avatar' sequels. Would they be available to start filming on a sequel with enough time to have it ready for May, 2016?

So, here is how Phase 3 is shaping up so far:

'Ant-Man' - July 17, 2015
'Guardians of the Galaxy 2' - May 6, 2016
And 'Thor 3' and 'Captain America 3' on either of these dates: July 8 2016 and May 5 2017

It's important to remember that Marvel has said they have a release schedule mapped out until 2021 (!!), so what we're looking at above is simply what has been announced (or reported) so far. We'll guess there will be one additional film added to Phase 3 ('Doctor Strange'), plus 'Avengers 3' that still need to be dated.